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How well do you know Karl Rove?

Republican strategist Karl Rove is no stranger to the spotlight — and the former White House adviser back in the news after
reportedly commenting that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suffered brain damage from a blood clot after a fall. But how well do you know him?

4. A member of his family surprised Rove with the news that his dad Louis was not his biological father. According to his memoir, “Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight,” who broke the news to Rove?
A. His mother broke the news in a letter that arrived his first week in college
B. His aunt brought it up at a family dinner.
C. His father told him on a trip to tour colleges in Nevada.
D. His step-grandfather told him on his deathbed.

ANSWER: B. His aunt brought it up at a family dinner. “I was 19 and I adored my aunt and uncle and during the course of a dinner with them, she let drop that I was adopted, which I did not know,” Rove told NBC’s Matt Lauer after his book came out in 2010.

5. What prank did Rove pull against the opposition as a 19-year-old staffer for a 1970 Senate reelection campaign?
A. Breaking into the other office and using stationery to distribute fake fliers.
B. Spray painting “Rove Rules” on the side of the building.
C. Calling in to a radio station as his boss’ opponent.
D. Staging a fake joint press conference to trick the other side.

ANSWER: A. Breaking into the other office and using stationery to distribute fake fliers. The fliers advertised a party at the same time as the Democrat’s office opening with “free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing.”

6. Rove attended all but which of these universities?
A. University of Maryland at College Park
B. University of Utah
C. George Mason University
D. Texas A&M University

D. Texas A&M University. Rove started at Utah before dropping out to take a position with the Republican National Committee. While in D.C., he enrolled at the University of Maryland but dropped out midway through his first semester. He went to George Mason University after that.

ANSWER: A. George H.W. Bush. Under the shadow of Watergate, the future president had to decide whether Rove’s politicking for the post had overstepped ethical bounds. His rival for the position leaked information about seminars in which Rove would share “dirty tricks” of the trade. After a lengthy and scandal-ridden process, Bush declared Rove had done nothing to warrant losing the spot.

8. Rove advised which tobacco company in the 1990s?
A. R. J. Reynolds
B. Philip Morris
C. Swisher International Group
D. American Tobacco Company

ANSWER: B. Philip Morris. He worked in that capacity from 1991 to 1996, continuing his relationship while serving as adviser to then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush.